Born in 1935 and raised by sharecroppers during an era when rural Alabama was segregated, Simmie Knox persevered by making history in 2004 as the first Black artist to have his work selected for the official Whitehouse portrait collection—his rendition of former President Bill Clinton and First Lady, Hillary Clinton. Moonwalking forward, Kehinde Wiley—standing on the shoulders of Knox and other portraiture giants as Charles White, Laura Wheeler Waring and Nelson Stevens—made history in being selected as the first African American to paint an official US presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, former President Barak Obama in 2018. Of current interest at Jeffrey Deitch gallery in Los Angeles is “Self-Addressed,” an exhibition curated by Wiley consisting of self-portraits by 44 contemporary African artists from the multidisciplinary artist-residence program, Black Rock Senegal, that he founded in 2019.

The infamous white gaze is interrogated, and African aesthetic individuality is unplugged as many of these images unapologetically stare right back at cha seeking neither acceptance nor approval for their intrinsic worth as human beings. Using such materials as acrylic, oil, pastel, charcoal and photography, these works reinforce that creative African expression is multilingual.

Lindokuhle Khumalo, Smile is Luxury, 2021. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Josh White.

Using acrylic on canvas, Lindokuhle Khumalo captures 21st-century self-perception with Smile is Luxury (2021). Gracing a Kool-Aid purple background is a young man taking a selfie, grinning while holding an iPhone. Facing viewers with a million-dollar smile, wearing a tangerine beanie and lime green T-shirt is enough to make anyone say cheese. In fact, Khumalo is courageous at painting two of the most challenging aspects of portraiture—teeth and hands. He refuses the escape clause of the serious look, or hands in pocket. Although many of the paintings do not reflect proficiency with rendering hands, the act of these artists taking the risk to intentionally reveal perceptions of themselves makes “Self-Addressed” worth seeing. It also leaves one hoping that Wiley will refine his curatorial vision with a reboot, sequel or a trilogy of exhibitions that push even further self-portrait boundaries.

Self-Addressed
Curated by Kehinde Wiley
Jeffrey Deitch
November 6 – December 23, 2021